Nuno Espirito Santo ‘over the moon’ as Forest’s dream season continues

Nuno Espirito Santo was “over the moon” after Nottingham Forest dug deep to beat Manchester United thanks to Anthony Elanga’s wonder goal and Murillo’s crucial last-gasp clearance.

A season to cherish at the City Ground continued on Tuesday night as the Premier League’s surprise package strengthened their grip on third spot, fresh from reaching a first FA Cup semi-final in 34 years.

Elanga’s electrifying early run and fine finish ended up securing a 1-0 victory against his former club United, but it was not a straightforward night for Forest.

The hosts battened down the hatches three days on from their FA Cup quarter-final against Brighton going to penalties, with Murillo stopping substitute Harry Maguire’s effort on the line in stoppage time to wrap up the win.

“Over the moon,” Nuno said. “We are delighted realising how the game went. We could not be more proud than we are because it was very tough.

“(Murillo’s clearance) was huge for us. Better than a goal, wasn’t it?

“The fans played their part. In these moments we were against the ropes and it was about hard belief. The legs weren’t there anymore, so very, very proud of them.”

Asked about the rocket-heeled Elanga’s goal, the Forest boss said: “Amazing. With the ball (he’s that fast). Imagine without the ball.

“He did it by himself. Credit to him. He has this special ability to drive at pace and still control the ball. It’s such a huge speed and the finish was great.”

Elanga refused to celebrate with the enthusiasm the goal deserved due to the affection he has for his former club, with the academy graduate making 55 appearances and scoring four times before joining Forest in 2023.

The 22-year-old’s display comes at a time when United are struggling for goals, which has led Ruben Amorim to face questions about forwards Marcus Rashford and Antony given they look rejuvenated out on loan.

“We are talking about a lot of players that come from Manchester United and are doing right, but they had the chance here,” the head coach said.

“In Manchester United, you don’t have the time. I am saying all the time that I will not have the time. We have to get it right fast.

“But you are not talking about players that didn’t play for Manchester United. They were here playing for Manchester United.

“In here, the pressure is too big sometimes and sometimes you don’t have time, you should have time for these kids to develop but for that you need a strong base to support all these kids.

“If you don’t have that strong base, we are not going to help our kids.

“So, they had their chances and sometimes football is like that and the pressure of playing for Manchester United is really big.”

United fought to the end but ultimately the side in 13th suffered their 13th loss of a miserable Premier League campaign.

“I think that is clear (we deserved more),” Amorim said. “We created some chances, but we could create more with the possession that we had.

“We reached the final third a lot of times but we need to be better in that final third because that is really important to score goals and we have a lack of goals.”